- Email: [email protected]
Shepherd Color launches special effect pigments
MATERIALS
compatibility of the colorants used in PA and PET, the company’s experts have also found a way to create an alternative formulation for PP with the same effect, it says. Applications for the cool black technology are in the field of smart textiles, covers, floor mats and upholstery fabrics for seats in the automotive industry, as well as in building interiors with increased exposure to sunlight. Both innovations were introduced at the Techtextil 2013 event in June. GRAFE also used the show to present its expertise in luminescent masterbatches for plastics, available in brilliant red, green, yellow and blue. The company says it develops a solution for each product individually in collaboration with the customer. In product development, special focus is placed on the impression created by the luminescent colour on the endconsumer in daylight. The majority of applications are in the toy industry, as well as in fashion and advertising. GRAFE is a family-run masterbatch producer founded in 1991 by four brothers. Its activities are organized in three business units: GRAFE Color Batch GmbH and GRAFE Additiv Batch GmbH specialize in the optical modification and physical modification of plastics, respectively, while GRAFE Polymer Technik GmbH produces conductive plastics as compounds. The company currently has a production volume of about 10 000 tonnes/year and employs 230 staff, of whom 70 are in R&D. Its masterbatches and specialist compounds are exported to more than 30 countries. Contact: GRAFE Advanced Polymers GmbH, Waldecker Straße 21, 99444 Blankenhain, Germany. Tel: +49 36459 450, Fax: +49 36459 45145, Email: [email protected], Web: www.grafe.com
Shepherd Color launches special effect pigments
C
incinnati-based Shepherd Color Co has introduced two new special effect pigments in its StarLight® series: StarLight FX 15 and StarLight FX 25 [ADPO, September 2003]. The new pigments, made with Shepherd’s Micro-Mirror® technology, are highly reflective silver-coated glass flakes. They are reported to be suitable for use in plastics and coatings. Attributes of the new pigments include ‘brilliant sparkle and glitter effects’, especially in strong sunlight, the
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Additives for Polymers
company claims. They are also resistant to tarnishing and easy to disperse, it says. With an average flake diameter of around 15 microns for FX 15 and 25 microns for FX 25, these one-micron-thick mirrors are ‘exceptionally well suited’ for coatings applications, according to Shepherd. The FX pigments provide sparkle and flash effects at relatively low loadings (<1%) in non-opaque colour base coats, or as additives in clear protective topcoats. They are compatible with almost all resins and solvents, the company reports. While very useful in coatings, FX 15 and FX 25 can be successfully employed in most plastic systems, Shepherd says. Their high heat stability (maximum 500°C) makes them very useful in the higher-temperature engineering resins, it comments. Contact: Shepherd Color Co, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Tel: +1 513 874 0714, Web: www.shepherdcolor.com
Polyscope terpolymer helps engineering plastics take the heat
D
utch company Polyscope Polymers BV has further extended its portfolio [ADPO, April 2013 & April 2010] with the addition of terpolymers consisting of styrene, maleic anhydride and N-phenylmaleimide. The new products are commercialized and branded as Xiran® IZ grades. Two new grades, Xiran IZ1018M and Xiran IZ0721M, which differ in the ratios of the styrene, maleic anhydride and N-phenylmaleimide constituents, are designed to increase the high heat performance of many engineering plastics. They were developed to respond to the increasing trend within the plastic industry to create styrenic engineering plastics with high temperature resistance and low volatile residuals, Polyscope explains. The new grades exhibit a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 175°C or higher and can be exposed to higher processing temperatures, with excellent miscibility in styrenic polymers such as ABS, the company reports. Furthermore, the processablity of the final product is very likely to improve, it says. Overall, the price and performance for this new class of terpolymers is very attractive, according to Polyscope.
August 2013
compatibility of the colorants used in PA and PET, the company’s experts have also found a way to create an alternative formulation for PP with the same effect, it says. Applications for the cool black technology are in the field of smart textiles, covers, floor mats and upholstery fabrics for seats in the automotive industry, as well as in building interiors with increased exposure to sunlight. Both innovations were introduced at the Techtextil 2013 event in June. GRAFE also used the show to present its expertise in luminescent masterbatches for plastics, available in brilliant red, green, yellow and blue. The company says it develops a solution for each product individually in collaboration with the customer. In product development, special focus is placed on the impression created by the luminescent colour on the endconsumer in daylight. The majority of applications are in the toy industry, as well as in fashion and advertising. GRAFE is a family-run masterbatch producer founded in 1991 by four brothers. Its activities are organized in three business units: GRAFE Color Batch GmbH and GRAFE Additiv Batch GmbH specialize in the optical modification and physical modification of plastics, respectively, while GRAFE Polymer Technik GmbH produces conductive plastics as compounds. The company currently has a production volume of about 10 000 tonnes/year and employs 230 staff, of whom 70 are in R&D. Its masterbatches and specialist compounds are exported to more than 30 countries. Contact: GRAFE Advanced Polymers GmbH, Waldecker Straße 21, 99444 Blankenhain, Germany. Tel: +49 36459 450, Fax: +49 36459 45145, Email: [email protected], Web: www.grafe.com
Shepherd Color launches special effect pigments
C
incinnati-based Shepherd Color Co has introduced two new special effect pigments in its StarLight® series: StarLight FX 15 and StarLight FX 25 [ADPO, September 2003]. The new pigments, made with Shepherd’s Micro-Mirror® technology, are highly reflective silver-coated glass flakes. They are reported to be suitable for use in plastics and coatings. Attributes of the new pigments include ‘brilliant sparkle and glitter effects’, especially in strong sunlight, the
4
Additives for Polymers
company claims. They are also resistant to tarnishing and easy to disperse, it says. With an average flake diameter of around 15 microns for FX 15 and 25 microns for FX 25, these one-micron-thick mirrors are ‘exceptionally well suited’ for coatings applications, according to Shepherd. The FX pigments provide sparkle and flash effects at relatively low loadings (<1%) in non-opaque colour base coats, or as additives in clear protective topcoats. They are compatible with almost all resins and solvents, the company reports. While very useful in coatings, FX 15 and FX 25 can be successfully employed in most plastic systems, Shepherd says. Their high heat stability (maximum 500°C) makes them very useful in the higher-temperature engineering resins, it comments. Contact: Shepherd Color Co, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Tel: +1 513 874 0714, Web: www.shepherdcolor.com
Polyscope terpolymer helps engineering plastics take the heat
D
utch company Polyscope Polymers BV has further extended its portfolio [ADPO, April 2013 & April 2010] with the addition of terpolymers consisting of styrene, maleic anhydride and N-phenylmaleimide. The new products are commercialized and branded as Xiran® IZ grades. Two new grades, Xiran IZ1018M and Xiran IZ0721M, which differ in the ratios of the styrene, maleic anhydride and N-phenylmaleimide constituents, are designed to increase the high heat performance of many engineering plastics. They were developed to respond to the increasing trend within the plastic industry to create styrenic engineering plastics with high temperature resistance and low volatile residuals, Polyscope explains. The new grades exhibit a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 175°C or higher and can be exposed to higher processing temperatures, with excellent miscibility in styrenic polymers such as ABS, the company reports. Furthermore, the processablity of the final product is very likely to improve, it says. Overall, the price and performance for this new class of terpolymers is very attractive, according to Polyscope.
August 2013